Center for Humane Technology Cuts Nine Jobs, Ends Policy and Litigation Work

The Center for Humane Technology is trading policy research and litigation work for founder-led advocacy, while laying off nine of its 16 non-founder employees. WIRED reported the departures, citing former staffers. The restructuring puts Tristan Harris and his fellow founders at the center of a narrower strategy for addressing technology’s risks.

The board’s case for narrowing the mission

The departures include executive director Julie Guirado and senior director of strategy Camille Carlton. The board announced the change last week without specifying a layoff count. Its decision ends functions that include assisting in litigation and evaluating AI tools, alongside the nonprofit’s policy research.

The board’s announcement instead prioritizes public education, targeted briefings and private coordination. It concluded that operating both as a Harris-fronted advocacy organization and a think tank producing policy papers had stretched the center too thin.

Board chair Premal Shah argues that mass communication creates public pressure, which then opens opportunities to influence powerful decisionmakers. He describes Harris as unusually able to reach media audiences across the political spectrum. Former employees told WIRED that the founders’ podcasts and videos attracted large audiences, while Harris secured private meetings with lawmakers and technology executives.

This moment of accelerated AI risk demands we focus on one strategy, and we have chosen to focus on what we have always done best so that we can meet the moment

Premal Shah, board chair, in a statement to WIRED

What critics say the center is giving up

The cuts follow courtroom victories against social media companies in cases that drew on the center’s research. That research alleged platforms were deliberately designed to keep children attached to their screens. The organization had also advised on lawsuits and investigations examining AI labs’ design choices.

Gail Barnes, an early social media strategy adviser to the center, says the board is dropping work meant to turn Harris’ fame into sustained pressure on companies. Her criticism challenges the board’s premise: whether AI advocacy needs more people to hear the warning, or stronger institutions capable of acting on it.

Some former employees fear the shift will divert resources from concerns about AI’s effects on democracy and civil liberties. WIRED interviewed 16 former workers about internal debates over the organization’s direction, most anonymously because they feared professional repercussions. Those accounts describe disagreements that had been building for years.

Founded in 2017 by Harris, Aza Raskin and Randy Fernando, the center has an annual budget of roughly $6 million and a similar amount in reserves, according to WIRED. Shah says its sole goal remains ensuring that consequential technologies serve humanity. The dispute is over the route to that goal.